Posted Nov 16, 2021 at 7:15 amUpdated Nov 16, 2021, 9:51 am
Prevent managers from communicating with their employees after working hours. This is one of the new rules introduced by the labor reform passed by the Portuguese Parliament. This ban is part of the context of a new legal environment to regulate remote work and ensure the right to separation and respect for private life, but it will now apply to all employees, whether face-to-face or remotely.
It is one of the last laws of the government of the socialist Antonio Costa, after whom his days are numbered The failure of the 2022 budget project Which did not find a majority in Parliament. The remote work law succeeded in overcoming loopholes and was adopted in extreme cases, with the support of small leftist parties, just before the dissolution of the chamber announced by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza, who set Call for early legislative elections s as of January 30, 2022.
No more messages after work
No more after-work messages, so the lawmakers decided. “Except in cases of force majeure,” it is forbidden to contact employees outside the specified working hours, in the name of the right to respect private life and rest times. And in order to prevent flexibility from leading to a permanent intrusion into employees’ personal space. A breach of this rule is a serious breach and may result in a fine of up to €9,600.00.
“Remote working has great advantages, provided the disadvantages are well controlled,” Labor Minister Ana Mendes Godinho said during an intervention during the Web Summit meetings in Lisbon, emphasizing that the pandemic has precipitated the urgent need for a framework for telework in order to protect employees.
Equality for face-to-face and remote employees
The new law provides for the right to remote work for parents of children under the age of eight, as well as equal rights for employees, whether face-to-face or remotely, while ensuring the same level of pay. It states that companies with more than 10 employees will be required to pay part of the expenses related to remote work, such as electricity and internet connection bills as well as maintenance of equipment necessary for the activity carried out.
The text states that companies will be required to respect break times and separate their employees, but also notes that remote employees will have to maintain direct face-to-face contact with the company at least every two months, in order to avoid isolation and maintain the link.
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